John Penhallow05.30.23
If your taste in wine is for Petrus or Leroy Musigny Grand Cru you may not know about bag-in-box (BiB) wines, which are quickly gaining in popularity. But the European Commission, in its usual heavy-handed way, is threatening to outlaw this cheap-and-cheerful pack, all in the interests of a new recycling plan. The mixture of plastic bag and carton box cannot be economically recycled, says the Commission. “Oh yes it can,” says Thierry Minaux, CEO of Smurfit Kappa BaginBox division. He claims that 75% of users separate the bag from the box before putting them in (separate) recycling bins, and that, anyway, the BiB is better for the environment than those clunky glass bottles. The ding-dong between the Commission and the packaging industry is continuing, so don’t get too excited yet.
His specialty is digital imaging, and at a press conference in May he introduced the Xeikon Label Discovery Panther. This entry-level UV inkjet press is innovative for its price ($275,000) but also for its low ecological footprint.
According to the manufacturer, this model consumes 30% less ink than the competition. The Panther range can go up to $660,000 for the most advanced variants, but Xeikon believes it has found a market niche for the needs of small and medium-sized label printers who want to go digital without risking their shirt.
Xeikon has also introduced the “Titon” line of dry toner presses, primarily for printing food packaging. “With Titon, your print is not only resistant to chemicals but also to high temperatures,” says Filip Weymans, marketing manager. Titon is currently being beta tested by an Italian customer.
Meanwhile, the All4Labels group, based in Germany, will shortly start beta-testing HP Indigo’s V12 press with its new LEPx imaging platform. According to the manufacturer, the press’ new technology can print at up to 120 m/m in six colors.
Meanwhile, Europe’s paper consumption remained stable despite the economic slowdown. Euro-zone GDP grew by a modest 0.3% in the third quarter and stagnated in the final quarter of 2022, according to the latest estimates.
“HP-Etikett has developed well in recent years,” he says. “Thanks to a strong and dedicated team and investments in sustainably produced labeling solutions.”
A look at the list of exhibitors tells us that several major label converters (CCL, Etipack…), as well as Domino, Herma, Sappi, Sleever and Videojet, all exhibited, along with more labeling equipment makers than you could shake a stick at. The last Interpack back in 2017 attracted 170,000 visitors from 169 countries. When the figures for this year’s Interpack are known, they will give us a clue as to how well future mega-shows (like next year’s drupa) will actually pan out.
The logistics show Logimat, which closed a few weeks ago in Stuttgart, reported an all-time record for the number of visitors, so announcements of the end of the big tradeshows are perhaps premature.
Unlike the bakery’s bread, which may contain only flour, water, yeast and a pinch of salt, the supermarket brands contain a variety of fats and other “taste enhancers.” Packaged bread increasingly lists its ingredients (though often in tiny, tiny script) and its health rating using an EU-sponsored color code.
Now let’s move on to wine, a vital business for Europe’s label converters. There are no less than nine obligatory statements to cram onto the labels of all wines sold in Europe. Now, in addition, wine labels must show a “list of ingredients” and, believe it or not, a nutritional value. Importers, producers and shippers have two years in which to implement the new label requirements, starting from December 2022. When the powerful wine industry complained that all this would mean even bigger labels, the authorities helpfully replied that the nutritional value could be contained in a QR code and the list of ingredients could – if necessary – be put into, you’ve guessed it, another QR code.
Whether these slightly barmy regulations will improve the wine or stop people getting drunk on it, is debatable. At least the powers that be have not – yet – imposed any regulations on poetry.
A new CEO for Xeikon
Since 2016, the Xeikon Group, based in the Flemish-speaking North of Belgium, has been part of the Flint Group, and is officially called Flint Group Digital. Its new president is Robert Welford; he has been running Xeikon’s R&D division for almost three years. Before that, he spent 16 years with Xaar, a UK manufacturer of digital printheads.His specialty is digital imaging, and at a press conference in May he introduced the Xeikon Label Discovery Panther. This entry-level UV inkjet press is innovative for its price ($275,000) but also for its low ecological footprint.
According to the manufacturer, this model consumes 30% less ink than the competition. The Panther range can go up to $660,000 for the most advanced variants, but Xeikon believes it has found a market niche for the needs of small and medium-sized label printers who want to go digital without risking their shirt.
Xeikon has also introduced the “Titon” line of dry toner presses, primarily for printing food packaging. “With Titon, your print is not only resistant to chemicals but also to high temperatures,” says Filip Weymans, marketing manager. Titon is currently being beta tested by an Italian customer.
Alliance by name and by nature
The French-based Alliance Etiquettes has brought together two of its subsidiaries, Imprimerie Etienne and Etiqu’Adhésif into a spanking new site in the Anjou region. The two plants formerly made both PS and dry labels for the wine and spirits industries. This new plant, costing €5 million, should boost Alliance’s 2023 sales to over $130 million, says CEO Olivier Laulan; his group has five plants in France and one in Italy.Meanwhile, the All4Labels group, based in Germany, will shortly start beta-testing HP Indigo’s V12 press with its new LEPx imaging platform. According to the manufacturer, the press’ new technology can print at up to 120 m/m in six colors.
German paper production down
Volume sales of European paper mills in 2022 were everywhere disappointing, and no more so than in Germany where the sales loss topped 5%. Sanitary grades, you will be pleased to know, held steady, but packaging, normally a bright spot in a dull market, was down by over 6%. This decline in production was seen in all regions of the world, including most of the EU’s main competitors in the sector.Meanwhile, Europe’s paper consumption remained stable despite the economic slowdown. Euro-zone GDP grew by a modest 0.3% in the third quarter and stagnated in the final quarter of 2022, according to the latest estimates.
A bite-sized acquisition
When Kyocera (78,000 employees) bought out the French Nixka (12 employees), the world’s stock markets did not shake. Nixka makes inkjet print systems using Kyocera’s printheads, and it counts big names like Memjet and Hunkeler among its customers. It is possible that the Japanese company, a relative newcomer to the world of digital printing, was mostly looking to acquire the expertise of Nixka’s small team. Will Kyocera be looking to expand its presence in roll-to-roll inkjet markets?The other HP
HP Etiketten in Germany has become the latest member of the Netherlands-based Optimum Max Aarts. This labels and flexible packaging group, which recently acquired Etikett Schiller, Skanket AS and Etiflex, now has 19 member companies with over 1,000 employees in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and Denmark. Eugen Kölling, CEO of HP-Etikett, will retain his management position.“HP-Etikett has developed well in recent years,” he says. “Thanks to a strong and dedicated team and investments in sustainably produced labeling solutions.”
‘This is Security speaking…’
Security labels have been around for a long time, but Fedrigoni feels this market sector needs a shake-up. As well as the usual tamper-evident laminates, this labelstock producer now offers non-repositionable labels, labels with special pigments, embossing or filigree fibers. Interestingly, it would seem, according to product manager Michele de Pascalis, that some of these might be supplied directly to the brand owner. This might be seen as a good way of cutting out the label converter.Interpack 2023
The most encouraging thing about the Interpack show in Düsseldorf is that it actually happened – after a Covid-induced gap of six years. At the opening press conference on May 4, industry expert Ralf Schubert took as his two themes modularity (for packaging machinery) and recycling (for everything).A look at the list of exhibitors tells us that several major label converters (CCL, Etipack…), as well as Domino, Herma, Sappi, Sleever and Videojet, all exhibited, along with more labeling equipment makers than you could shake a stick at. The last Interpack back in 2017 attracted 170,000 visitors from 169 countries. When the figures for this year’s Interpack are known, they will give us a clue as to how well future mega-shows (like next year’s drupa) will actually pan out.
The logistics show Logimat, which closed a few weeks ago in Stuttgart, reported an all-time record for the number of visitors, so announcements of the end of the big tradeshows are perhaps premature.
A loaf of bread… a flask of wine, a book of verse…
The simple pleasures of life, as recommended by Omar Khayyam, are due for a makeover. Let’s start with the bread. In France, and to a lesser extent in the rest of Europe, most people buy bread from a bakery, where it is stacked without packaging or label. No baguette ever carried a list of ingredients or a health warning. But an increasing share of the bread market is supermarket bread, known as “pain américain” (guess why).Unlike the bakery’s bread, which may contain only flour, water, yeast and a pinch of salt, the supermarket brands contain a variety of fats and other “taste enhancers.” Packaged bread increasingly lists its ingredients (though often in tiny, tiny script) and its health rating using an EU-sponsored color code.
Now let’s move on to wine, a vital business for Europe’s label converters. There are no less than nine obligatory statements to cram onto the labels of all wines sold in Europe. Now, in addition, wine labels must show a “list of ingredients” and, believe it or not, a nutritional value. Importers, producers and shippers have two years in which to implement the new label requirements, starting from December 2022. When the powerful wine industry complained that all this would mean even bigger labels, the authorities helpfully replied that the nutritional value could be contained in a QR code and the list of ingredients could – if necessary – be put into, you’ve guessed it, another QR code.
Whether these slightly barmy regulations will improve the wine or stop people getting drunk on it, is debatable. At least the powers that be have not – yet – imposed any regulations on poetry.